Elizabeth Sweeney is a visual artist, arts researcher and curator. She is also a neurodivergent queer of Acadian settler decent, who grew up in rural Nova Scotia. She has a BFA in Studio Art from Concordia University (2001), a B.Ed from the University Of Ottawa (2005) and an MA in Critical Disability Studies from York University (2012), where she focused on disability art and contemporary curatorial practice. She has worked at The National Gallery of Canada, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery and currently works at The Canada Council for the Arts. Elizabeth frequently presents and guest lectures on the topic of art criticism, activist museum praxis and contemporary disability arts. She is also a founding core member of the Black Triangle Arts Collective. In 2019, Elizabeth was awarded a multi-year Chalmers Art Fellowship for her project Premise/Shift. This project is rooted in pushing the boundaries of how visual arts can be produced, by questioning who it is created for, and expanding personal artistic practice beyond what is known or expected; This transformation is grounded in a Deaf and disability arts discourse, activism and a commitment to access(Premiseshift.net).
During 2021 Elizabeth lives between the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation (Ottawa, ON) and the Acadia First Nation in Mi’kma’ki (Mavilette, NS)
Recent work
www.elizabethsweeney.ca
www.premiseshift.net
Press
- Akimbo: “Premise/Shift by Elizabeth Sweeney”
- Re:purpose, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
Art form
Visual Arts
Textiles
Sculpture
Installation
Performance Arts
Film
Community
Disabled
Neurodiverse
Fat
LGBTQ2SIA+
Queer
Feminist
Website
www.premiseshift.net/
Location
Ottawa,ON/ Mavilette,NS